The Face Of The Hunger Games
by SaintClaire
Summary: Caesar wasn't fighting to keep someone out of the arena. He was fighting to save them from something worse. The story of the Flickerman children, and the boy who never even got a name in the books. This is Caesar's ending. Please review.


The Face Of The Hunger Games

Caesar Flickerman was the face of the Hunger Games. Everyone knew him, his face. Tributes died and were forgotten, mentors wasted away, and victors eventually became old, but Caesar stood in his flickering limelight as the face of the Hunger Games.

Torus Flickerman was head Gamemaker, and a close confidant to president Snow. His two children were always expected to take after him in his career with the Hunger Games. Caesar and Lavinia were exposed to every vile dinner, every pointless party that Gamemakers threw, their father watching over them with a cold smile on his face.

Their father's plan backfired. Made to watch every Hunger Games since birth, Caesar grew to hate the Games with every fibre of his soul. When his sister was born, she was made to watch as well, her innocent eyes being made to watch the atrocities that their father orchestrated. Caesar was in his late teens when Lavinia was born, and had been made to work for the past three years as an understudy to his father, in the Game Programming Room. Forced to sign the contract by his relentless father, Caesar had no choice but to do what he's told, delivering messages and moving pieces of the arena like piece on a chessboard. He hated it. When, and only when it was possible, he would tweak things to make a tribute's situation that little bit easier, a kinder, cleaner death that what someone else would give them. Small mercy's though they were, he couldn't give them anywhere near often enough.

Eventually, Caesar's classical face grew popular enough that he was thrown onto the stage, instead of being stuffed in the Gamemaker's room. He revels in his new job, knowing that at least he can send children off to their deaths with a kind word. His job still hurts, still keeps him up at night wondering which of the 23 faces he will not greet on the victors stage, but it is easier than pushing the button that kills them. Caesar cannot push buttons anymore. In his new home, he changes every button that controls some device to a switch, or if it's not possible, he just has it thrown out. He will not push anymore buttons.

Lavinia is raped when she is 16, by Seneca Crane, who is positioning to take over from his father as head Gamemaker. She arrives at Caesar's door one night, in tears and gasping for breath. She begs him to take her in, and he does, sitting with her on the couch, stroking her hair until she manages to fall asleep.

No-one believes them. Seneca Crane denies that he ever touched Lavinia, Torus Flickerman backhands his daughter across the face when she begs him to have him sent to trial, to examine the evidence. Mysteriously malfunctioned security cameras in Flickerman's home can give no evidence to the supposed daughter of the house's rape. When Lavinia is found to be pregnant, Torus throws his daughter out of the house, claiming that she is merely a whore, and that this pregnancy is certainly not a result of the rumoured rape. Caesar takes his sister in again for good, helping her through her pregnancy. That year, he dies his hair red, the bright red of blood.

Lavinia's son survives. Caesar takes her to a poor hospital, where he knows one of the nurses. She is well-cared for, and Caesar is the second person to hold his new nephew. Together, brother and sister name the infant Russet, after the beautiful shade of hair he inherited from his mother.

Caesar insists that Lavinia and Russet live with him, and he provides for them, watching over the two most important people in his life. The night he comes home to find Lavinia unconscious on the floor and Russet screaming from his cradle is a warning. There is a note left to Russets crib, written in red ink – 'His hair matches the colour of yours'. There is no signature, but there isn't a need for one. He knows exactly who sent it. The next year of the games, when it is time for Caesar to change his hair, he dyes it bright gold.

Lavinia stays in the house with Russet, Caesar earns more than enough to keep all three of them comfortably. He finds a new position for the Avox assigned to him, and Lavinia takes over the running of the house. She says she likes it, because she can at least feel like she's helping. Caesar likes it too, having just the three of them as a little family. He loves Russet. The television in Caesar's house may always be tuned to the Hunger Games, but Russet is never forced to sit there, staring and studying the awful images. The only time Russet cheers at the television is when his beloved uncle comes on the screen.

The year Annie Cresta wins is the beginning of the end. Caesar cheers silently in his heart for the poor, terrified girl as she is lifted out of the flooded arena. He hopes Seneca Crane was responsible for the stuff-up with the arena, hopes he will be punished for it. He is not, but a different Gamemaker dies a week later, due to an untimely heart attack, the word is. Caesar knows better. Annie's victory is delayed as she lies paralysed in a padded room. Caesar does his best to help Finnick Odair, who is unconsciously making a spectacle of himself as he runs around in hysterics about his young victor. Annie reminds Caesar of Lavinia.

When Annie is finally well enough to be presented to the depraved eyes of the Capitol audience, Caesar spends several hours with Finnick Odair, carefully going over what he and Annie will be able to talk about in her interview. As Caesar leaves, Finnick asks him in a quiet voice why he cares, and Caesar, for some reason, tells him the truth. Annie reminds him of Lavinia.

Annie's interview is pitiful in the terms of the audience, but Caesar knows it has gone remarkably well. It is evident in Finnick's voice as he thanks him, leading his shaking girl away from the stage. Everything really goes to pieces when Annie is made to attend the party at President Snow's mansion. Somehow, she becomes separated from Finnick and Mags, and they run everywhere, trying to find her, so Caesar helps. He finds her pinned to the wall by Seneca Crane, who is biting at her collarbone.

What happened after is blurred for Caesar. He remembers screaming for Finnick, throwing himself at Seneca Crane, shoving him away from the poor terrified girl before she meets the same fate as Lavinia. He remembers the crack of Seneca's nose, the blood that began to flow under his hands, and the satisfaction he feels. He remembers the look in President Snow's eyes as he surveys the scene, as Finnick leads his trembling girl away from this hateful place. He remembers running to find an Avox, any Avox, to send a note to Lavinia telling her to run. He remembers returning home several hours later to find his house trashed, but neither Lavinia or Russet being there.

Caesar woke several days after the party at Snow's manor. He awakes in a sticky pool of blood and glass on his floor, of his wrecked house. He is overcome by an enormous sense of relief, because this means that most likely, Lavinia escaped in time. His poor sister and her darling son are safe, at least for the moment.

He cleans up his house, paying special attention to Russet's room. It is decorated with wallpaper covered in pictures of the coast, and Caesar wishes that he could have taken his sister and nephew to the beach, just once. He tries to go on with life, listening for any snippet or scrap of news about his missing sister. One day, when he walks into his dressing room, his eyes are immediately drawn to the white piece of paper wedged into the bottom of his mirror frame.

_I love you. Russet loves you. Thankyou so very much._

_Lavinia. _

Set on top of the note are two locks of bright red hair, only the slightest difference in shade. Caesar presses the note to his lips, whispering a thankyou. He takes the battery out of his watch, and puts the locks of vibrant hair safely in the empty cavity, keeping them next to his skin. He puts the note in his breast pocket, where he can feel the crisp paper against his chest.

In 6 weeks, he buries Russet. He buries the little body in a casket, with a package he received from Finnick. The little package holds shells, some sand, and some colourful little starfish. It's the best he can give him, instead of the trip to the beach.

President Snow personally sends him a handwritten note, expressing his sympathies for his now-Avox sister. She works in the headquarters for the Games, serving Seneca Crane. Caesar punches holes in the living room walls, crying for his sister. He wishes so much she had died along with Russet. He goes on screen the next day, after wiping all the makeup off his bruised and battered knuckles. He places his hands where the camera will be sure to catch them, and hopes that wherever she is, she will see them, and understand.

Two days later, when Seneca Crane walks into the studio with a bright red handprint on the side of his face, staring daggers at Caesar, he is sure that she did see it. He smiles mockingly at Seneca, raising his glass just the smallest bit in his direction before gulping it down. Sometime later, he learns that his sister now serves District 12. Apparently Seneca decided she wasn't worth the trouble. This means Lavinia will be fetching Haymitch's liquor, and cleaning up after him and his tributes.

Caesar likes Haymitch well enough. For all that's he's a drunk who didn't know how to act for the cameras, he's one of the better victors. He's not the sort to take out a drunken rage on a Avox girl, or any girl. But knowing his sister's situation still depends on him, Caesar toes the line. He continues to send children to their death's with the crowd cheering for them. He zealously performs his duty with a beaming smile on his stupid face, pulling off the act of a lifetime. Anyone watching would think he loves his job. He hates them all, sneers at the Capitol audience in his mind. The only time he shows honest emotion on stage is when he wishes the tributes well. He could not be more sincere in those moments.

He wishes them quick, painless deaths, like the spear that travelled clean through Russet's heart. It would have killed him easily. Every time a red-headed tribute comes to the stage he feels a small pang, for his lost nephew. But he is far better off where he is, and Caesar doesn't wish him back to live this.

Caesar never takes a lover, or a partner. He barely has any friends. Sometimes, he will drink with Haymitch in the mentors lounge, after Haymitch's tributes have both died and he's trying to pluck up the courage to go home. He's helped Haymitch stumble to the train, where Lavinia waits, without fail to help drag the drunken mentor to his bed. She always has a smile for him, but never a note. He doesn't need one. He keeps the locks of hair in the battery cavity of his watch, that hasn't worked for 3 years, and her final words to him he keeps in his breast pocket, next to his heart.

Each year that Finnick returns to the Capitol to mentor, he brings a couple of shells for Caesar, who puts them on Russet's grave, in lieu of flowers. Caesar understands why Finnick returns to the Capitol year after year, ever since he walked in on him in bed with his female co-host for the tributes parade. He knows Finnick pays so Annie doesn't have to. He wonders if Finnick knew how much he wished he could have paid in Lavinia's place.

The 74th Hunger Games are a shock to everyone. The Capitol cheers for the love between Girl on Fire and her lover, but Caesar knows the districts will scream for something quite different. He wonders how many other people are feeling the ice grow thin beneath their feet. He cheers himself, when he hears of Seneca Crane's death. _"The bastard got what was coming to him after all."_

Though his sister still serves the pair from District 12, it doesn't occur to Caesar that she might be in more danger than usual. He thinks perhaps she is safest as an Avox.

The reading of the card, for the 3rd Quarter Quell is the symbol. So nothing at all is safe then. In the days to come he contacts Finnick, Haymitch, Cecelia, Seeder, and Johanna, the few friends he has managed to make in his career. He asks what he can do for them, if anything. Finnick travels up to the Capitol personally to meet with him and some other clients, and tells him what he knows about District 13 and their plans. Caesar jumps at the idea, and agrees to help with what he can from the inside, in exchange for one thing. He asks Finnick if he will show him the best beach in District 4, one day when everything is over. He wants to show Lavinia the beach, and pick some shells for Russet himself. Finnick agrees, and the pair split. There is no way Caesar can contact the other victors about this, every method of communication on the suspected ones will be bugged to breaking point.

He picks lavender, one of the most neutral colours he can think of for his hair this year. It used to be one of Lavinia's favourite colours. He wonders if it still is. He does his best with each and every Victor, only falling short with Mags, who he tries so hard to understand but cannot, and Johanna, who ends up being dragged, swearing and screaming of the stage. But Mags pats his hand as she gets up to leave, and Johanna grins at him with a wicked glint in her eye. These are the tributes who won. They don't need him to play their own Games. He is walking on his own thin ice.

Peeta is another matter entirely, and when he announces Katniss's pregnancy, Caesar nearly laughs at the boys sheer genius. Wether Katniss is pregnant or not, Peeta knows what he's doing. He does his best to keep the interview on track, knowing Lavinia's life depends on him doing what he's told. It doesn't matter. The girl on fire made the spark, and Peeta lit the bomb with it. Snow won't be able to bring this back from Hell now.

When the arena explodes, no-one knows what to think. Caesar knows from Finnick there was some plan to get them out of the arena, but not the details, not enough. He is held, in some sterile white cell with Peeta Mellark and Enobaria in the President's mansion, and told he is to wait. Wait for what, he wonders.

When the time comes for Peeta to have his first interview, Caesar is carefully prepped on what he is only allowed to say. After all, he is the Capitol's much loved Face of the Hunger Games, and he hasn't done anything wrong. He wishes so much he could help, but Caesar's hands are tied. He doesn't know what has happened to Lavinia. But they haven't taken away his watch, which he stuffed the note into as well as those precious locks of hair.

Peeta's second interview is Caesar's last. When Peeta lets slip the news that 13 is about to be bombed, the studio erupts, and Caesar knows the cameras didn't cut out in time to hide the sight of Peeta's blood. But when Peeta screams to him that Lavinia is dead, that won't he please help Annie, Caesar's blood runs cold. Enough. He has nothing left now.

He begins to attack the room, everyone he hates, every audience member he can get his hands on. He attacks with the same viciousness that he leapt on Seneca Crane with, all those years ago. His beautiful sister is gone. How grateful he is. She won't suffer any more, and she will get to see Russet again. How grateful she must be.

Caesar breath leaves him when he sees his old demon walk into the room, with an earpiece in his ear. Of course he came to see the grand show. He screams, screams with the decades old anger he feels toward Torus Flickerman, and leaps on him. His father might be old, but he is still a match for his son. Caesar snarls in his ear, telling him _'she's dead' –_ before gripping his head and slamming it as hard as he can into the ground, once, twice, three times. The hands that haul him away from Torus are rough, unyielding, they throw him in his cell and slam the door.

It doesn't matter. Nothing matters anymore. His kind, beautiful sister is gone, safe somewhere with the person she loves the most. They can't have hurt her for very long. They didn't really manage to hurt Russet at all, not the way they are hurting everyone else now. With a pang, Caesar thinks of Finnick's Annie. He wonders what they will do to her. They can't do much to him. They can't do anything to him now. Caesar begins to laugh.

He laughs for days, sitting by himself in his cell, knowing quite well everyone probably thinks he's gone insane. It seems like the funniest joke in the world, that Snow made a mistake and killed his sister and her son. He's got nothing on Caesar now. Sitting alone, he makes a song, singing to himself every tribute's name that he can remember. The dead ones, the lost ones, they are safe now too. He sends up a prayer for the ones who are dying of pain now, but eventually, they will get to be safe too. One day they will all be safe.

The day the building is stormed and the prisoners rescued Caesar hears about it. He hears the guards that march past his cell discussing it, and hears them mention Annie. The rebels managed to find her, even though she was kept in a silk bedroom rather than a cell. He knows how they must have punished her, and he thinks of Finnick. He will have his Annie back now. He's so very glad. If anyone in this wretched mess of a country deserves to be happy, it's Finnick. Even if Annie has broken again, Finnick will be able to save her, just like last time. He is glad to have something to be glad for.

When the war ends, rebel soldiers find him in his little cell, singing his name song. He remembers gentle Cecelia, who had never seen gems, let alone wore them before her interview night. Maysilee, who was going to win for her twin sister. Emily, who had a waiting baby at home who needed her. Henrik, who shoved his District partner into the ground so the axe meant for her neck fell on his. Mags, whose bright red hair had flown around her head in a halo before it turned white. Chaff, who had thrown his severed hand in a Capitol doctor's face when they tried to force him to accept an artificial replacement. He sings about all of them, every one that he can remember.

He's sad to hear of Finnick's death. He is surprised to hear that Johanna Mason has become Annie's constant companion. He's thrilled to hear that Annie will have a baby. He thinks of how happy his old friend would have been when he died, knowing his wife and baby were being protected by Johanna. A small comfort to have when he left the world.

So many Capitolites are held trial for the appalling crimes they committed, around half of which Finnick exposed in his interview. Caesar's glad that they know he hated them all. Finnick would like that. Caesar is not held to trial for his involvement in the Hunger Games, because of Annie. Even in her delicate condition (physically and mentally) she defends him. She had helped Finnick collect shells for him to put on Russet's grave. She remembered – and this surprised Caesar – that he had come to her rescue when Seneca Crane tried to rape her. Peeta manages to speak up for Caesar as well. Lavinia's interrogators had mentioned him while giving her electric shocks. Caesar is saddened to hear of his sister death, but to hear that she died within three days of being shocked helps. She suffered so little, compared to everyone else, and she knew who would be waiting at the end of it. He absent-mindedly rubs his watch as Peeta speaks, thinking of the beautifully coloured hair inside.

The Capitolites are moved out to the districts, and most people have the freedom to choose where they go. Many pick to remain in their home district, many more switch. Caesar ends up in District 7, surrounded by trees. He has his own little house, on the edge of a cliff. He doesn't know what he can do to make a living, until Johanna suggests he strip and sing for dinner, like the boy in the nursery rhyme. He doubts the boy in the nursery rhyme stripped, but it gives him the idea. And so Caesar Flickerman, former face of the Hunger Games, becomes a music teacher.

His singing is debatable, but he writes. He writes about the hundreds of children he had to send to die, with nothing more than a kind word and a smile. He writes a song about all the different shades of the colour red. He writes about his few friends who died before they could see the world they died for. He doesn't write about Snow. He doesn't think Snow deserves to be written about.

He catches the Friday train to District 4, to visit Johanna, Annie, and her little son. He goes on a picnic to the beach with them, where the bronze-headed toddler picks up shells and plays games with the waves before he gets his feet wet, and runs, squealing to his mother. Annie is happy. It's clear she isn't as well as she had been when Finnick was alive, but she is able to be their for her son, who loves his mother as much as his father did. Johanna seems to be as happy as Johanna can get, when she remarks sarcastically to him about her skin, that has turned brown without the constant shade of trees.

Caesar is happy as well. Surrounded by smiling children, who sing. Like his beautiful little nephew, who died before he turned six. Little children, who he can pat on the back as he sends them out to play in a playground, and see them in half an hour, happier than before. He can stop dying his hair, and it very slowly returns to its reddish-brown colour, so different to the vivid hue of Lavinia's. He takes up carving, making little statues of people out of wood. His beautiful sister and son stand proudly on his mantle piece, surrounded by his old friends.

He's going to die one day. But when he does, he gets to know that he's leaving those still alive in a safe and happy place. He gets to know that when he dies, he's going to see everyone he loves again in an even safer and happier place. If this is the gift that so many rebels died for, he thinks it is a most worthy cause.

The day that some of the other teachers of Elderwood Primary School show up at Caesars house, concerned as to why their music teacher missed the morning lessons without notice, they find Caesar sitting in a rocking chair by the fire place. He's clutching three locks of hair in his wrinkled hand, two only slightly different in colour, one that matches the old man's hair so many years ago. In the other he holds a note, worn and creased from years of reading and re-reading, and a very old, battered watch with no battery, that hasn't worked for the past 60 years.


End file.
